NYC NOW - May 26, 2023: Morning Headlines

Episode Date: May 26, 2023

Get up and get informed! Here's all the local news you need to start your day: High staff sickness forces Staten Island ferry into hourly operation, two elected officials refute the city's claims of tracking new migrant shelter arrivals, and changes to New York City’s 'right to shelter', stirs skepticism among homeless advocates.

Welcome to NYC Now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. It's Friday, May 26th. Here's the morning headlines from Michael Hill. Sunny in 55. Today's sunny and 74. The Staten Island ferry will continue to run once an hour this morning. The ferry started running on a reduced hourly schedule yesterday evening.

It normally runs every 20 minutes during rush hours. The Department of Transportation says a high number of ferry staff called out sick. Federal staffing requirements mandate five crew members on duty for boats to run. One of the Ferris unions has been in a long-standing contract dispute with the city. Staten Island Borough President Vito Fasela is calling for both sides to return to the negotiating table, saying the dispute leaves residents suffering from issues outside of their control. Since to start of the migrant crisis, city officials say they've been tracking the number of new arrivals coming into shelters, but WNYC's Elizabeth Kim says the city has stopped reporting some of its data.

City Hall had been providing updates on the breakdown of migrants in traditional shelters and emergency shelter sites. But two elected officials told WNYC that the city stopped providing those numbers earlier this month, about one week before the end of Title 42, a pandemic-era border policy. City controller Brad Lander calls the omission unaccept. saying that accurate counts are important for budget and other policy decisions. Council member Shahana Hanif also says the city's data is insufficient. A mayoral spokesperson said the city is giving updates on migrant counts twice a week, but did not say why the change in reporting occurred.

Advocates for New York City's unhoused population are skeptical of the Adams administration's effort to suspend parts of the city's right to shelter rules. The order requires the city to provide a bed and shelter to anyone who needs it. Christine Quinn is president and CEO of Wynn, a housing and homeless services provider for families and children. She's also the former speaker of the New York City Council. She tells WNIC's Brian Lear, while the current policy change would affect single men, she's concerned the mayor won't stop there. I don't believe it's going to stop at singles.

Nothing of his behavior indicates that. This week, the city filed a motion to, to get flexibility on right to shelter, citing a strain on existing systems due to the number of migrants arriving in the big city. 55 and sunny right now. It's beautiful out there. Sunny and 74, very spring-like today and very spring-like this weekend on the warm side. Sunny with dry and temperatures in the 70s.

Thanks for listening. This is NYC now from WNYC. Be sure to catch us every weekday, three times a day, for your top news headlines and occasional deep dives. And subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. See you this afternoon.